The present invention relates to illuminated computer mouse pads, and particularly to the method and device for illumination in said computer mouse pads.
It is well known that available illuminated mouse pads suffer from various technical difficulties limiting their effectiveness and desirability. Some illuminated mouse pads, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 20020131270, contain no local light source and instead are illuminated by external light sources. Mouse pads that do contain local light sources, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,310, U.S. Pat. No. 20040224107 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,336, are illuminated unevenly, having specific light patterns depending on the number, placement and type of light source design, or require alternating current power.
U.S. Pat. No. 20040224107 uses fiber optic cables to channel light in illuminated designs. In order to display different designs the fiber optic cables must be placed on the pad in different ways causing great expense and limiting the design options available.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,310 describes an illuminated mouse pad that is illuminated from within by a perimeter of light sources. Such a device suffers from great variation in illumination as areas closer to the light sources are illuminated more brightly than areas further away. Additionally, this device requires a significant number of light sources.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,336 is illuminated by an electroluminescent laminate. Such a device is incredibly costly to manufacture and requires a large power draw to operate brightly. In addition, electroluminescent laminate require alternating current, necessitating a transformer of significant size if the device is to draw power from a Universal Serial Bus (USB), which is only capable of providing direct current. Considering that USB ports are the primary method of attaching powered peripherals such as mouse pads, this limitation is significant.
The present invention provides a solution for the above problems by using an internal light source and an array of light diffusers that evenly redistribute emitted light without resorting to adding additional or external light sources. Such a light can be combined with a variety of designs without significant alteration and supplies uniform illumination, representing a substantial advancement over previous illuminated mouse pads. Additionally, such a light can be powered by direct current from a computer's Universal Serial Bus (USB), eliminating the need for a costly and large transformer.